ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 2.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• ASML's stock rose 2.8% after Erste Group Bank upgraded it from a hold to a buy rating, with shares trading as high as $964.54 before closing at $957.80.
• Analysts remain mixed on ASML, with two rating it as Strong Buy, nine as Buy, and five as Hold, while the average price target stands at $923.80.
• ASML recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $1.856 per share, up from $1.64, resulting in an annual yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 26.17%.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 2.8% during trading on Monday after Erste Group Bank upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $964.54 and last traded at $957.80. Approximately 1,747,725 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 1,715,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $932.15.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ASML. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $806.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank cut ASML from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ASML from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded ASML from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $923.80.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Putney Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 322.2% in the 1st quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 153.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 78.9% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $379.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $762.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $736.58.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The semiconductor company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.94 by ($1.39). The business had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.72 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 26.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.01 earnings per share. ASML has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $1.856 per share. This represents a $7.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. ASML's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.21%.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. develops, produces, markets, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems for chipmakers. It offers advanced semiconductor equipment systems, including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company also provides extreme ultraviolet lithography systems; and deep ultraviolet lithography systems comprising immersion and dry lithography solutions to manufacture various range of semiconductor nodes and technologies.